BANGLADESHI MIGRATION TO WEST BENGAL: A CAUSE OF CONCERN Jyoti Parimal Sarkar 1 SECTION I Introduction The phenomenon of migration is experienced by the human race for ages. History has witnessed massive movements of people over great distances to hunt, fish, establish a livelihood, and to find a secure home. However, it became a cause of concern only since the beginning of the nineteenth century when the economic development processes, political alignments, socio-cultural aspirations and environmental conditions worked together to erect political and territorial borders around ethno-cultural communities for which global population flows became a hindrance. In general, international migration flows are found to be from poorer countries to richer countries. However, the volume of migration within the developing world that is from some developing countries has become increasingly significant among the patterns of Third World population mobility. Some of the major flows of people in South Asia which still has left bitter memories in the minds of people has been experienced by India; the India-Pakistan refugee flows in 1947-48, involving nearly 15 million Hindus and Muslims; the exodus of Burmese Indians numbering about 1 million during 1948-65; the exodus of Sri Lankan Indians and Tamils to the tune of about 1 million since 1954 onwards; the flight of almost 10 million from East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to India during 1971 Indo-Pak War; flight of about 0.1 million Chakmas from Bangladesh to India in 1981; the unwanted population flow from Bangladesh to Assam in India and the two-way flow between Nepal and India (Samaddar, 1999). In 2000, India with its net migration being 6.3 million persons ranked the sixth among the top ten countries in the world with largest international migrant population (Times of India, September 12, 2006). The Census of India 2001 Report on migration (D-Series) shows that about 6,051,965 persons who live in India were born in other Asian countries, out of which more than 56 per cent (3,742,883) were from Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan (1,305,707), Nepal (640,862) and Sri Lanka (183,183). Thus, the movement of the population from Bangladesh to India is not unique, as India has been receiving migrants from other countries also. Also, the Census of India 2001 Report on 1 Research scholar, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU-110067 1
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BANGLADESHI MIGRATION TO WEST BENGAL: A CAUSE OF CONCERN
Jyoti Parimal Sarkar1
SECTION I
Introduction
The phenomenon of migration is experienced by the human race for ages. History
has witnessed massive movements of people over great distances to hunt, fish, establish a
livelihood, and to find a secure home. However, it became a cause of concern only since the
beginning of the nineteenth century when the economic development processes, political
alignments, socio-cultural aspirations and environmental conditions worked together to erect
political and territorial borders around ethno-cultural communities for which global
population flows became a hindrance. In general, international migration flows are found to
be from poorer countries to richer countries. However, the volume of migration within the
developing world that is from some developing countries has become increasingly significant
among the patterns of Third World population mobility. Some of the major flows of people
in South Asia which still has left bitter memories in the minds of people has been
experienced by India; the India-Pakistan refugee flows in 1947-48, involving nearly 15
million Hindus and Muslims; the exodus of Burmese Indians numbering about 1 million
during 1948-65; the exodus of Sri Lankan Indians and Tamils to the tune of about 1 million
since 1954 onwards; the flight of almost 10 million from East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to India
during 1971 Indo-Pak War; flight of about 0.1 million Chakmas from Bangladesh to India in
1981; the unwanted population flow from Bangladesh to Assam in India and the two-way
flow between Nepal and India (Samaddar, 1999). In 2000, India with its net migration being
6.3 million persons ranked the sixth among the top ten countries in the world with largest
international migrant population (Times of India, September 12, 2006). The Census of India
2001 Report on migration (D-Series) shows that about 6,051,965 persons who live in India
were born in other Asian countries, out of which more than 56 per cent (3,742,883) were
from Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan (1,305,707), Nepal (640,862) and Sri Lanka (183,183).
Thus, the movement of the population from Bangladesh to India is not unique, as India has
been receiving migrants from other countries also. Also, the Census of India 2001 Report on
1 Research scholar, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU-110067
1
migration (D-Series) shows that more than 30 lakhs persons in the state of West Bengal were
born in other Asian countries out of which more than 98 per cent were from Bangladesh.
Among all population flows into India, the inflow from Bangladesh has specifically
received great attention in the recent times. Similar geographical, socio-cultural, and racial-
linguistic linkages coupled with easy accessibility of the border have induced the people of
Bangladesh to move towards India, especially, to the States bordering Bangladesh. In fact,
there are various ways in which one can look at the cross-border migration-taking place
between India and Bangladesh. There have been debates whether this cross-border
migration problem should be left totally in the hands of the states or should the society take
responsibility in deciding the status of such movement. There also arise questions whether
these migrants should be regarded as refugees or as illegal migrants or as politically
naturalised citizens. The problem is acute because Bangladesh is not interested to take back
them and offer Bangladeshi citizenship. Once the Pakistani/Bangladeshi people cross the
border of India, they have to give up their Pakistani/Bangladeshi citizenship and lose their
property rights on land and other assets under the Enemy Property (Custody and Regulation)
Act, 1965 in Pakistan, which continued to be operative under the new nomenclature called
the Bangladesh Vesting of Property and Assets (VPA) Order, 1972 after the establishment
of Bangladesh (Fernandes, 2005).
The numbers of illegal migrants into West Bengal have actually created an alarming
situation in India. This problem has attracted serious political attention in West Bengal in the
recent years, especially, during the time of election to the State Assembly held in 2006. The
migrants were the de facto force in the decision-making of more than fifty per cent of the total
294 constituencies of West Bengal Assembly. This special attention is mainly because their
inflow has become a one-way traffic and a continuous process. Its intensity is varying with
the changing of socio-economic, political or ecological conditions of Bangladesh. Besides, its
intensity is varying with the changing of socio-economic, political or ecological conditions of
Bangladesh. Hence, the objective of the present exercise is to look into the dimensional
problem of migration, the pattern of migration, the reasons for migration and the role of the
Government in the effort of their settlements.
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This study is been divided into five Sections. This introductory Section is followed
by studies on Bangladeshi Migrants in India in Section II. The analytical framework and
methodological issues involved in this study are discussed in Section III. Section IV is
completely devoted to empirical analysis based on secondary data and primary data. The
main conclusions of the study and policy implications are presented in the last Section V.
SECTION II
Studies on Bangladeshi Migrants in India
Not many studies have been carried out in India about the nature, the dimensions
and the magnitudes of Bangladeshi migrants living in India, even though it figures
prominently during the times of communal violence, political disturbances (e.g. Assam
movement) and election campaigns. A few notable studies, however, do exist on this issue,
which are mainly done by the demographers as well as by social and political
scientists/thinkers. In this section, some of these studies have been reviewed and their main
observations/findings are mentioned below.
Samaddar (1999) in his book on ‘The Marginal Nation’ analyses the issues relating to
‘trans-border migration’ from Bangladesh to West Bengal. He has raised questions on ‘illegal
migration’ and ‘national security’ within a broad perspective, which accommodates the
historical, cultural and geographic dimensions along with the economic and demographic
aspects of the phenomenon. He demystifies the constructs of ‘borders’ and ‘national
territory’ by bringing to the fore the viewpoints of the migrants themselves. He has
questioned the practical value of these terms by showing how the flow of people across the
Indo-Bangladesh border is prompted by historical and social affinities, geographical
contiguity, and economic imperatives. Pitted against the natural urge for survival, ‘nation’
and ‘border’ are easily marginalized in the minds of the people who then find ‘illegal’ ways to
tackle these man-made barriers obstacle in the path of their well being. The net result is that
the very future of transplanted concepts such as ‘nation-state’, ‘national security’ and
‘national borders’ has fallen in doubt in the present-day South Asia. Based on data, reports
and travels along the Indo-Bangladesh borders and to the migrants and their hamlets,
Professor Samaddar has analysed the problem of trans-border migration. According to him,
3
depending on class, gender, time of departure and time of return, the concept of ‘nation’
undergoes changes in meaning- Desh (nation) is the ‘home’; desh is the village/ the district/
the country and often the family; so location of nationhood varies on both sides of the
border. Further, in one of his studies - “Cruelty of Inside/ Outside”, Samaddar has referred
the Bangladeshi refugees as special animals, as distinct from aliens (Samaddar, 2004).
Political circles in West Bengal saw this human misery as a great chance to build up a vote
bank.
The story of the massive exodus of people from Bangladesh and the process of their
resettlement of these migrants in West Bengal in the late 1940s and the 1950s was carefully
examined by Prafulla Chakrabarti (1990) in his ‘Marginal Men’. But it remains unclear how
the partition of India and the consequent population movements that followed were
naturalised (thus also ‘nationalised’). In spite of the trauma so vividly portrayed by Prafulla
Chakrabarti, the immigrants were naturalised in various districts of West Bengal. He has
pointed out one reason, that is, the predominantly urban milieu of the phenomenon. In this
milieu, the exodus and resettlement both were cataclysmic events; the process of
naturalisation in larger context escapes the eyes of the authorities. Peasant migration from
Bangladesh to Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Dinajpur, 24 Parganas and Nadia in the 1940s and 1950s
retained the peasant nature of earlier population movement. The study of Nanda in 2006
gives us an overview of the economic aspects, which leads to the movement of Bangladeshi
to West Bengal.
Pranati Datta (2004) in her article “Illegal Bangladesh Migration to West Bengal” has
also spoken about illegal Bangladeshi migration but her study is confined to the State of
West Bengal in India. She looked at the effects of the migration and the ways and means to
check it. She has extensively discussed the factors like the Farakka Barrage, the Enemy/
Vested Property Rights, which was enacted in East Pakistan during 1965 and various other
political and religious issues, which led to the inflow of these illegal migrants into West
Bengal. She has pointed out that the political patronage of West Bengal acts as the main pull
factor for these migrants.
The article “Population Movement from Bangladesh to India: What Do the Census
Data of 1981 and 1991 Reveal?” by Nanda (2006) has also focussed on the major
4
determinants of the out-migration from Bangladesh to India. He has made a detailed study
of the ecological and economic factors, which were missing in the writings of Pranati Datta.
However, the main attempt of this article was to measure the flow at the State level, to
pattern the locational spread of Bangladeshi immigrants in India, to identify the specific
geographical regions of concentration in terms of sex composition and rural and urban
destination. His study was based on the data provided by the Censuses of India 1981 and
1991.
Sangeeta Thapliyal (2000) in her article “Bangladeshi Migrants in India: A Cause of
Concern” has also examined the various determinants of the inflow of the Bangladeshi
migrants into India. She has stressed more on the political problems and factors, which have
led to the inflow. She has further highlighted the problems, which arose in the North-
Eastern States of India as a consequence of immigration of Bangladeshi migrants.
Hazarika (2000)’s study was limited to the States in the North-East of India. In one
of his writings in “Rites of Passage”, he has identified land hunger, population pressure and
environmental factors in Bangladesh as the primary push factors, which are responsible for
the efflux of people, apart from the attraction of greater economic security and the pressure
of ethnic diaspora in India. He has made a distinction between environmental and political
refugees and provided valuable information about the paths of migration across chars (river
islands), the numbers of entrants, and their destinations in India. His study was based on the
extensive fieldwork conducted in Assam and Bangladesh, and data were culled from
decennial censuses and other statistical records, and also through interviews with the
knowledgeable persons in area. He has criticised the vision and the will of the Governments
in both the countries and argued against the rights of citizenship given to Bangladeshi
migrants in India, an action that has caused instability in the North-Eastern region of India
as a whole.
Pramanik (2005) has looked into the various aspects of Eastern and North-Eastern
region of India and Bangladesh, particularly, the demographic changes due to infiltration/
migration from Bangladesh into India and its impact on this sub-region. He has shown that
there has been a decline in Hindu population and an extra-ordinary upswing in Muslim
population in all the districts of West Bengal. Further, another study on ‘illegal migration’
5
has shown that illegal migration from Bangladesh to India are going on unabated during the
last three decades. In Bangladesh era, Hindus are coming as usual like in the days of Pakistan
due to religious persecution and political pressure but a new feature also started emerging as
people from majority segment (Muslim) for different reasons and purposes started coming
to West Bengal (Pramanik, 2006).
Thus many studies have only focused on the social, political and economic factors
which have acted as push factors attracting migrants. But none of them has mentioned about
their ultimate settlement process. Certain questions on ‘social’, ‘economic’ and ‘political’
status of these migrants after their settlement in India still remain unanswered.
SECTION III
Analytical Frame and Methodology Used The flow of population across national borders has been a topic of serious
discussion among social scientists for a long period. A few sociologists and anthropologists
as well as economists have studied the problem of migration in the lights of demographic
transition, ethnicity, racism and globalisation, and political characteristics of host countries.
Even when the implications of trans-border flows became clear, in terms of territoriality,
ethnicity, racism and globalisation, the subject did not use to be linked with the theory of the
nation, nationality or nationalism. It is the nation, which defines who its citizens are. The
nation also fixes the limits to which participation can stretch. All persons who are willing to
be participants to nationhood cannot become its citizens. Only those with whom the nation
has the obligation to transactional relationship, both of nation and citizenship, become
eligible categories. Citizenship becomes the passport to security within the national
boundaries. Migrants demand citizenship to become able to transact, to lead, and to
participate peacefully in the democratic process and in the building up of their new nation.
Otherwise, the feeling of national insecurity in their new abode is exacerbated in them.
Illegal migrants in any nation, therefore, have their own notion of ‘rights’: they negotiate for
citizenship. They join a political party, which they think, could help them in the solution of
the issue. They hope to escape their misery with the magic wand of citizenship.
6
According to the study by the Population Reference Bureau, most people who cross
national borders do not go far; most international migrants stay within the same geographic
region while migrating to neighbouring countries. One of the most prominent examples of
such cross-border migration is the migration of the people from Mexico across its northern
border into the United States. Various theories have been developed to explain the
phenomenon of cross-border migration. There are some theories on international migration
which discuss the cause and pattern of migration. The three major theories of international
migration are economic, social and political.
Some of the important economic theories relevant in understanding international
migration vis-à-vis cross border migration. “Neoclassical economics theory at macro level” is
probably the oldest and best-known theory in the area of international migration. This
theory has tried to explain labour migration in the process of economic development (Lewis,
1954; Ranis and Fei, 1961; Harris and Todaro, 1970; Todaro, 1976). Corresponding to these
theory there exist a “Neoclassical economics theory at micro level” {Sajaastad, 1962; Todaro
(1969, 1976, 1989); Todaro and Maruszko, 1987}. In this scheme, individual rational actors
decide to migrate because a cost-benefit calculation leads them to expect a positive net
return usually monetary, from movement. People choose to move to where they can be the
most productive, given their skills. The “New economics of migration” theory, which was
developed as challenge to many assumptions and conclusions of the neoclassical theory
(Stark and Bloom, 1985). According to this theory, migration decisions are not made by
isolated individual actors but by larger units of related people - typically families or
households - only to maximize expected income and also to minimize risks. Then came up
the “Dual labour market” theory which sets its sights away from decisions made by
individuals/ households, but states that international migration stems from the intrinsic
labour demands of modern industrial societies. Piore (1979) has been the most forceful and
elegant proponent of this theoretical viewpoint. According to “World system” theory,
migration is a natural outgrowth of disruptions and dislocations that inevitably occur in the
process of capitalist development. As capitalism has expanded outward from its core in
Western Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan, ever-larger portions of the globe and
growing shares of human population have been incorporated into the world market
economy. As land, raw materials and labour within peripheral regions come under the
7
influence and control of markets, migration flows are inevitably generated, some of which
have always moved abroad (Massey, 1989). That is, international movement is the movement
of labourers or economically active individuals.
Though economic factors are always important, they are not the only determining
factors in the decision to migrate. These economic theories have conspicuously failed to
consider psychological, social and political motivations for migration. Sociologists have
introduced the notion of “chain migration” or set of social relations that influence people’s
movement. Migrant networks provide sets of interpersonal ties that connect migrants,
former migrants and non-migrants in the countries of origin through kinship, friendship and
shared community origin. This view is explained under the “Social Network” theory {Hugo,
1981; Taylor, 1986; Massey and Garcia Espana, 1987; Massey (1990a and 1990b); Gurak and
Caces, 1992}. Once international migration has begun, private institutions and voluntary
organisations arise to satisfy the demand created by an imbalance between the large number
of people who seek entry into capital-rich countries and the limited number of immigrant
visas these countries typically offer. This viewpoint is explained in the “Institutional” theory.
In addition to the growth of networks and development of migrant-supporting institutions,
international migration sustains itself in other ways that make additional movement
progressively overtime, which Myrdal (1957) called “cumulative causation” theory of
migration. It is cumulative because each act of migration alters the social context, within
which subsequent migration decisions are made.
In the light of the objectives set in study and the existing theories on international
migration, the following propositions have been formulated for verification in this study:
1. The partition of India in 1947 on religious ground is the main causative
factor for cross-border migration from Bangladesh to India, particularly to
West Bengal;
2. ‘Kin and friend relationship’ actually propels the migration and helps
migrants in the choice of their places of settlement;
3. Feeling of insecurity of the minority community in Bangladesh due to rise of
religious fundamentalism and frequent environmental/economic disasters
have acted as major push factors for massive migrations in the wake of
Partition;
8
4. Political support, ethnic affinity and sympathy of the government of West
Bengal towards immigrants have encouraged the continuance of migration;
5. The fellow-feeling among the migrant community has helped the migrants to
acquire citizenship rights through the acquisition of permanent documents
like ration card, voter’s identity card, patta of the land, etc. and ultimately
obtain naturalisation;
6. The Hindu immigrants consider India as their saviour as well as their
ultimate asylum for settlement and consider India as their motherland; and
7. Economic opportunity has been the time mover of migration from
Bangladesh.
To identify the factors underlying the cross-border population movements from
Bangladesh to West Bengal, we have examined first whether an influx of population in West
Bengal has taken place at all. The Census of India gives information on population of West
Bengal for the different Census years. The unnatural rates of growth in population will
reflect the immigration of population, mostly from neighbouring places. If the high growth
rates occurred in the bordering districts of West Bengal, then it is expected that the migrants
are from Bangladesh. The cross-border migrants, normally after crossing the border, try to
settle down in nearby villages or towns. Though kinship and friendly relationship determine
the paces of migration, distance is a major inhibiting factor at the initial stages of migration
episodes, specially, for cross-border migrants. Therefore, the growth rates in the populations
of border districts have been examined firstly.
Data on population growth rates in various districts have been collected from the
Census data as published by the Government of India as well as the Government of West
Bengal in its various volumes of Statistical Abstract (Bureau of Applied Economics and
Statistics). If the growth rates were uniform, the relative ranking positions of districts would
have remained unchanged. That means that the influx of refugees remains confined to the
same districts. Thus, the districts of West Bengal have been ranked according to decennial
growth rates in population for different time points (mainly for Census years). The stability
in ranking pattern has been judged by the rank correlation coefficient. Whether the
coefficient of correlation is significant or not - is judged by Student’s t-test.
9
On the basis of high growth rates since Independence, four districts viz. Burdwan,
Hoogly, Nadia and North 24 Parganas have been identified for investigation. Then, detailed
information about Bangladeshi migrants was collected through a limited field survey using an
elaborate Interview Schedule. The field survey was carried out by the researcher in two
border districts viz. Nadia and the North 24 Parganas, two adjacent districts across the
Hoogly river viz. Hoogly and Burdwan. The localities for conducting surveys were identified
after getting informal information about the concentration of migrant settlements. Though it
would have been better to visit some of the border villages, an attempt to do so was not
made since border areas are known to have become more violent than ever before and
exchange of fire takes place between BSF of India and BDR of Bangladesh quite frequently
and the villages remain tension-ridden. However, the places where the survey was conducted
are not too far away from the border. Nadia and the 24 Parganas are hardly 40 to 50 kms.
away from the Bangladesh Border. The Sub-Divisional town of Kalyani in the Nadia district
and the Bijpur Thana in North 24 Parganas district has a high concentration of migrants.
The other two places, Kuntighat area in Balagarh Sub-Division of Hoogly district and
Krishnadebpur area under Kalna Sub-Division in Burdwan district are also having high
concentrations of Bangladeshi migrants. These places are about 60 to 70 km. away from the
border.
Various hypotheses on migration like Social Network or Kin-Friendship Network,
Economic Opportunities, Pull-Push factors; Cumulative Causation, etc. are verified on the
basis of primary data. Most of the data collected in the study are qualitative in nature,
especially those in the category of ‘miscellaneous information’, therefore, tabulations are the
major analytical tools employed for drawing conclusions.
SECTION IV
Empirical Analysis
1. Analysis based on Secondary Data:
Higher rates of population growth observed in the State of West Bengal than that in
the country as a whole have raised concern for policy makers and administrators. The higher
10
growth rates indicate that immigration from neighbouring areas has been a contributing
factor. But the higher increase in population in the border districts of West Bengal certainly
reflects the magnitude of cross-border migration from the neighbouring Bangladesh
(formerly East Pakistan). The national growth rate of population was 21.6 per cent during
the period 1951-61, whereas the corresponding rate was 32.8 per cent in West Bengal. The
same trend was observed in the subsequent decades also. Among the decades, the highest
growth rate was, to be sure, in the fifties immediately after the partition of India in 1947.
However, the national growth rate of 22.7 per cent during the last decade of the Census i.e.
1991-2001 was higher than that of West Bengal (17.8 per cent), which may be interpreted as
a sure indication of the reduction of inflows of refugees in the more recent times. If we look
at the decennial growth rates in the border districts of West Bengal during the period of
1951-2001, the phenomenon of cross-border migration becomes more clear (see, Table 1).
Table 1: District-wise Decennial Growth Rate of West Bengal (1951-2001)
Source: 1) Volumes of Census of India, Registrar General of India, New Delhi.